Metallica - Fade to Black (Cliff Burton Loud Bass)

This is my version of "Fade to Black". I mixed it using Reaper and mastered it using T-Racks CS. This is part of my "Burton of Lightning" project, I'm actually uploading all Burton songs I can find in mogg format, that way I can mix the bass as loud as I want to.
This sounds as if Metallica were a power trio, so whenever Kirk plays a guitar solo, Cliff is the only one providing foundation, rhythm and harmony to the song. I think that with this type of line-up, Cliff's work can really shine and stand out in the mix.
If you add a rhythm guitar, things get cluttered and the bass disappears. And my goal here is for us to hear every single note Cliff is playing. So the volumes are all switched. When we hear guitars on a record, they're always much louder than the bass, and this is our revenge! Here the bass is the star!! And Cliff deserves that, his arrangements are simply beautiful and shouldn't be buried in the mix, so please listen to it as many times as you want and promote it away.
How was able to do that? I had access to the original isolated tracks, so that way I felt free to mix them and highlight the sections I thought were richer to the whole project. That meant cutting off some of James' guitar parts during Kirk's solos, and leaving Lars out of the spotlight cause he mixes his drums super duper loud since he's the leader of the band. That way, Cliff's bass line came to life and the song sounds amazing!

[@jmelder6499]

The enhanced bass gives the song an even darker and more melancholy feel, which is so much more powerful

[@agestor4483]

Wow it does making me fall asleep

[@stevenlee1075]

@@agestor4483 that’s not good lmao

[@agestor4483]

@@stevenlee1075 it soothing. Im not all about the sing. mostly into the sound and beat

[@stevenlee1075]

@@agestor4483 it’s not super soothing or calming for me but it does make me PUMP with excitement as I either play along on my bass or just listen. The galloping part kills my hand by the end though

[@agestor4483]

@@stevenlee1075 but at that time i was tired so made me sleepy but i would headbang

[@zephyrsteele1696]

Cliff is the man! His bass playing inspired me to pick up the bass. I hope Cliff is jamming out in the Great Gig in the Sky with all the greats

[@fusionwizard3116]

Zoe Fry he left Metallica to join Skynyrd man

[@MrJerm200]

tyhg224444444444 you sure it wasn’t Satan? Cuz cliff was badass and heaven is scared of badasses

[@marcuscastro300]

All time top 5

[@marcuscastro300]

If not top 3 of all time

[@magicsteve5523]

He’s in a band with Dimebag, Randy Rhodes, Dio and Nick Menza

[@buddymack9606]

99.5 KISS in San Antonio used to play a bass-boosted version of Fade to Black late at night during the mid-1980s. I recorded it off the radio during my senior year in early 1986, and together with the bass tab from the Oct 86 version of Guitar for the practicing musician magazine, learned how to play Fade to Black on bass soon after Cliff died. It took me several months to get it down, and was the first song I learned on bass. I recognize that those first efforts at bass playing were part of the mourning process, though the grieving continues on some level. Bass playing has become a beloved lifelong hobby for me over these many years since then, and I look forward to many more if it is God's will. Rest in peace Cliff, and eternal gratitude to you for inspiring me and countless others to pick up a bass and learn to play it

[@alextamulis]

dude, what an incredible story! Thanks for sharing, all the best!

[@sansthelazyskeleton8902]

i was thinking bass was a boring instrument until i heard what cliff wrote

[@robinrobbins69]

Really like how the echo is more present, more dramatic.

[@micgauth]

that part at 1:50 ooh so sweet.

[@Vortigan07]

Stunning!!!

[@XXLRebel]

I knew he went up high for that part but never knew it was such a cool riff

[@wickedPrints3256]

I love that part! It get's lost in the original mix. Cliffem All!

[@vadermike7772]

Wow, I never heard that before due to it being buried, that's really cool.

[@drghostpepper1]

I've heard this song a thousand times and never noticed that

[@blackpagesfanzine6997]

32 years ago today. We miss you Cliff

[@seamussc]

It wasn't until I heard a bass boosted version that I realized Kirk's solo around 2:30 is just a variation on the first half of the song's bassline further up the neck.

[@ilyasantonov212]

1:49 is such a cool fill

[@EetFuk8]

Still the best bass player and one of the most amazing musicians in the world.

[@fusionwizard3116]

Jackson Teller yeah was like Hendrix and Rhoads, but on bass

[@greedo69]

@@EetFuk8 check out the bass on spiral architect - a sceptics universe

[@tkendel6]

you can hear his solo just buried deep in the mix at the end, so cool

[@zoltanember6353]

That's still Kirk!🤣🤣🤣 Omg...how hard they must laugh at you...

[@tkendel6]

@ no, cliff has a “solo” dubbed under the solo.

[@harcos9323]

​@@zoltanember6353 There's a bass solo underneath the main solo

[@DankApples3]

​@zoltanember6353 no theres definitely a bass solo under the main one, hell they play it live before fade to black

[@nicktashman4023]

It would be great to hear the call of ktulu like this. great work

[@_fremdkoerper]

I don't know why but the melodic intro always gives me goosebumps. Every single time. Still one of my favorite Metallica songs!

[@JesusChrist-qc2xc]

For a cat that could shred, he always laid back and played right where he needed to. No flash. No ego.

[@robertkirk318]

This song still makes me cry.

[@Downsies3834]

Best part of the song - 0:00 to 6:52 - make you fuckin cry.

[@generalknowledge9899]

He was never gonna make the simplest bass riff boring. So good

[@DeedeeM3gaDooDoo]

goosebumps listening to cliff in just the proper way, the solo reaching for the stars on those massive bass gallops

[@totallynotevil3509]

this deserves more likes and views because sounds sooo epic and beautiful , nice work btw man

[@matthartford6338]

“I was me, and now me’s gone” man, exactly how I felt after bashing my head in, and spending 2 years in rehab, wanted the end so bad to set just me fucking free, instead of that crap. Got better though. Love this fucking song.

[@Cake_Doge]

I hope you are doing even better mate, happy to hear such stories like this

[@martthunderdark]

When I listen to that song, I'm in the other world...

[@Onyx-divine]

Make metallica ur methadone. Glad u were able to quit meth

[@XXLRebel]

"This can't be real..."

[@manifara2878]

great job man, cliff was the best, every note was wonderful, thank you for your great work, please upload more.

[@talsveta]

Amazing work. It's the first time I can hear Kirk's ending solo so clearly

[@gavinlangford2984]

That is actually how the bass was suppose to sound like. I reckon this how the base actually was and toned down just like justice. Wow. One of the greatest pieces of music I have ever heard creeping death and Orion....throw Master of puppets in there

[@marioalexanderski9598]

You need to add the lost solo...

[@valentinalacana]

man this is a really great mix, the bass and the echo on the vocals gives to the song a beautiful darkness

[@lamontarnold1612]

harmony is amazing cliff was good at that

[@jwill4997]

It’s amazing how just making the bass heard more in this already deathly deep song add a whole universe of feeling and strength... yet nobody seems to wanna give the bass their due, I always say u can always use more bass

[@tabunga4669]

In the description you talk about a power trio... this song played by 3 ppl is beautiful. Especially when the bass is playing the main riff while the electric guitar is just soloing, truly powerful

[@alextamulis]

I'm so glad you liked it, Tag Unga! :) thank you for watching

[@satiroglu44]

Love that bass lines Especially after 01.03 I began to play bass parts without realizing.

[@SGodThor]

Gold Medal for Alex ! You Cliff´d my day!

[@Shadevar2010]

the verses were....haunting. gave me chills. well done, one of the better adaptions I've ever heard.

[@carmenhenrique2281]

This song gives me goose bumps everytime!!

[@jjmah7]

Metallica was always known for having such low bass in the mix (what they did to Newstead is just awful), but damn I didn’t realize they did similar shit to Cliff himself!?! This is amazing

[@arybrunengo2306]

POR SIEMPRE CLIFF!!

[@StencilArmada]

Ever metallica song deserves loud bass

[@_DimeBag_Dr]

I like the ending extended and the whole solo felt so powerful ❤

[@tomkelly4496]

I wish I would have come across this years ago. Older bro and I used to disagree over the guitar solo. I loved it. He said it was drowned out by the rhythm. He was right.

[@alextamulis]

Interesting story, Tom Kelly! Thank you for sharing

[@zddeakzoltan]

Cliff forever ♡

[@Maus__666]

Cliff forever

[@franciscoaraujo1035]

This is best Metallica.

[@chuckyspell]

This is the first time I heard Cliff's lines in the verse section. Some great stuff got buried in the original mix!

[@KillerInstinctFan666]

Good Work! Why the bass was so quite in the early Met-Albums? It Sounds 1000 times better!

[@longinuscyclone213]

its lars wanting the drums to make your ears pop, this is most obvious on ajfa (all the jokes are true)

[@josea.ramirez7325]

BEacsuse they hate all the bassist

[@mottosierra1372]

That was the way they mix back in the day nothing against Cliff or anything like that

[@evanrichley7506]

Because it kinda takes your attention away from guitar which is the main thing to average musical listeners which make up the majority of fans so bands just kinda leave it quiet

[@jasonmartinez5116]

They're still like that in their later albums

[@chrisridenhour]

What a treasure, thank you

[@ashleighsalinas8526]

I was playing by ear since tabs are usually incorrect, and it was close but still off so finally I got it to sound right thanks to this lol. You can hear every note he played ❤

[@alextamulis]

thank you! :)

[@rellik187redrum]

I have lost the will to live after quitting methadone, except when I hear this.

[@Necro-s]

Will you remake this with the lost solo?

[@abelstrd]

Got my bass in it's case sitting in the corner think I will pick it up and play it now.

[@Cake_Doge]

did you play my man?

[@The_Aleph_Null]

God, this solo is just goddamn amazing

[@alextamulis]

Hammett was indeed inspired back then

[@The_Aleph_Null]

Alex Tamulis He can still be, just not on Hardwired since he just went there and improvised basic wah fills with the same scale as always, but the solos in Death Magnetic are amazing

[@fuckallthatpopshit6316]

Do And Justice for all with Louder bass

[@lIIllllIlllllIIIl]

Hddr Rrew lol

[@orgeirjonsson3014]

...And Justice For Jason

[@maksphoto78]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6uwfGOVq9CGqsk&list=PLHYfKCY-fy0Y5w7jk21Uq660fMdnTGTY1

[@felixrr7381]

louder 0 is still 0 :D

[@jasonclark9963]

juanpax64 dumbass comment

[@valraukardso7117]

If the drums in the solo would be a little bit louder so you can hear the douple bass than it would be perfect.

[@budakkedah77]

Holy Shit that Bass of the Beast..

[@mikestienen7313]

I,love this bass parts……...and the double bass from lars

[@memesoldimu5418]

This is fucking therapy!

[@bassmaster1965a]

EXCELLENTTTTTTTT

[@rayswoodshop4467]

Nice Alex ! Love it !

[@fabriziobianchi6940]

great, just great

[@bruceprophet8367]

Awesome. U should mix Metallica's next album lol

[@petethueson2043]

cliff the best

[@diegosouza2647]

Muito bom cara!!!

[@gstagge]

The phrase at 1:50 is juat gold

[@ПлатоновРоман]

Can I say that the voice of Cliff Burton himself appears in this version of the song?

[@alextamulis]

Yes, he does backing vocals here :)

[@THESONICSPEEDDEMON]

Idk if I’m hearing things but there’s a bit more reverb on the vocals here and that’s a pretty cool touch

[@memesoldimu5418]

Great work dude

[@ryanforsythe8923]

Very nice work Alex. Awesome shit bro

[@manasdeepsingh3502]

Whenever there is lightening in the sky i know that he is jamming up there

[@antho9315]

So technical !!

[@jacobduran9434]

Damn with actual audible bass this song fucking kicks ass!!!

[@armandomaldonado1322]

Cliff bass vs modern bass. Will never achieve maximum bassism as cliff the god of bass himself. 😎🫡❤️

[@Mike_B.]

6:05

[@bolloxology76]

Love this

[@lupemonjaraz6246]

Sin duda una obra de arte maestra

[@joserafaelmoralessanches8028]

Cliff el mejor!

[@majinMP4]

Life, it seems, will fade away Drifting further every day Getting lost within myself Nothing matters, no one else I have lost the will to live Simply nothing more to give There is nothing more for me Need the end to set me free Things not what they used to be Missing one inside of me Deathly lost, this can't be real Cannot stand this hell I feel Emptiness is filling me To the point of agony Growing darkness taking dawn I was me, but now he's gone No one but me can save myself, but it's too late Now I can't think, think why I should even try Yesterday seems as though it never existed Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye Goodbye

[@Znowhite]

This is how the bass must sound, no Flemming Rasmussen production. Martin Birch should produced it like we hear Steve Harris.

[@alextamulis]

Thanks Guido, this means a lot, all the best to you, dude :)

[@maculchannel]

The best song

[@NickCADA]

RIP CLIFF

[@gusztavbankuti8272]

Cliff amazing

[@Vortigan07]

OMG How have I never heard this before?!!!! Just fucking amazing!!!

[@agestor4483]

Bruh it makes the solo sound awesome

[@yucawhotv6714]

Also James Hetfield reverb voice is incredible!

[@alextamulis]

I also dig it! That's one of the staples of RTL!

[@nickpianist4046]

I love it!!!

[@MaxyOlea]

un abrazo al cielo amigo nacho

[@fernqueiroz]

A verdadeira sinfonia do thash metal.

[@coltincover6042]

this is the only version of the song i listen to now

[@scottpatterson2170]

🤘

[@kennethparsons311]

They need to remaster it again. Cliffs bass makes the song so much better. Why would they hide his talent. Wish I could tell them I like this better than there remix

[@oversoul7777]

Goddam this is better than the album version

[@BS_1978]

Why didn't they turn the bass sound up so it could be heard? This version is BETTER than the album version!

[@deni50948]

Aí sim o baixo aparecendo e fazendo distaque

[@charlielucas3386]

Is Cliff playing the Spoiler here?

[@alextamulis]

No one really knows, but most people say his Spoiler was stolen, so here it is either the Rickenbacker (but with modded pickups, he had a Gibson EB mudbucker on the neck and a stacked Fender J on the bridge) or it could've been the Aria Pro SB-1000. I believe some songs feature the former and other songs the latter. Thanks, dude!

[@charlielucas3386]

@@alextamulis kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZTFkGxvgbx-pK8 This confirms that his bass WAS stolen. But to this day, unless I’m not getting enough information, it has never been found. From what I’ve heard, a large chip in the finish on the back of the Spoiler, around the side of the peg head, would confirm that it was in fact Cliff’s missing Alembic. I’ve often dreamed about somehow finding it, and giving it to Rob (Trujillo) as a surprise if I ever had the chance to attend a Metallica concert. I’ve never played bass in my life, but I’m tired of the masses always saying “start with p-basses, Squires, Ibanezs, etc.”, but I’m the kind of person who sometimes prefers his own path...so what if I deviated from the mainstream, and started with one of the rarer basses (an Alembic, an Aria, etc)?

[@WatchCommentAndLeave]

METALLICLIFF : CLIFF THE LIGHTNING FADE TO CLIFF BASS POWEEEEEEEERRR!!!!!

[@Shaggy0f138]

🤘🖤

[@toddzeigler9432]

These are fantastic. Ktulu and For Whom The Bell Tolls please!

[@alextamulis]

Hey Todd, I did For Whom the Bell Tolls, please check out my channel and I hope you like my rendition. Ktulu will be near to impossible since the stems weren't shared with the population, hehe. Mixing without stems is not possible, the result would boost the whole song and it would sound like crap. Anyhow, talk to you soon!

[@toddzeigler9432]

@@alextamulis I found Bells! KZbin recommended. Nice work! And no worries on Ktulu. Can only work with what we have, right? Happy holidays!

[@ryanforsythe8923]

I don’t care what people say but Cliff was one of the greatest musicians of all time

[@jacobduran9434]

🔥🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@shianeuf8692]

How did you get the audio tracks of each instrument?

[@sam8404]

probably gh metallica

[@stevenlee1075]

MORE BASS!!

[@ronaldvalerio]

Probably cowbells too

[@hugobernal4479]

This si how the bass have to sound in all the fucking metal songs, loud and powerfull

[@gayboyiii971]

cliff pls coem back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!